2017 Annual ReportBEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY

2017 Fiscal Year: Uniting Around Our Common Goal

City by city, county by county, state by state, compassionate organizations and individuals like you are uniting to create a brighter, safer future for the animals with whom we share our lives.

Here are just a few of the things that we accomplished together from October 1, 2016, through September 30, 2017.

Animals directly helped through Best Friends programs:

191,770

Spay/neuter surgeries performed through Best Friends spay/neuter clinics and programs:

98,275

Animals adopted through Best Friends adoption centers, events and promotions:

80,488

Kittens and nursing mothers helped through Best Friends kitten nurseries:

4,796

Best Friends volunteers:

29,997

Subscribers to the Best Friends Legislative Action Center:

470,739

Animals transferred to Best Friends regional programs from city and county shelters:

9,851

Best Friends Network partners:

More than 2,000 across all 50 states

Funding provided to Best Friends Network partners:

$4.7 million

From the Chair of the Board

"Best Friends’ board is charged with the long-term health, stability and mission-focused integrity of the organization. In this regard, something profound transpired in 2017 that simply doesn’t lend itself to traditional assessment."

In Fiscal Year 2017, Best Friends ...

Officially opened new Best Friends pet adoption centers in Manhattan and Atlanta

Celebrated the city of Los Angeles officially becoming a no-kill city for dogs, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Best Friends, Los Angeles Animal Services, our NKLA Coalition partners and community members

Sent 564 pets home in just two days at a record-breaking spring NKLA super adoption, where actress and Best Friends supporter Selma Blair hobnobbed with some of L.A.’s most adorable adoptables

Created the 2025 National Steering Committee, comprised of proven no-kill movement leaders from both the local and national levels, tasked with catalyzing the movement and creating the road map to achieving no-kill nationwide by 2025

Hosted the Best Friends spring animal welfare summits, presented by Maddie’s Fund® in eight major cities around the country, which brought local leaders in the sheltering and rescue world together to discuss ways to increase regional collaboration and coalition-building on behalf of homeless pets

Launched a new shelter outreach program, designed for shelters critical to achieving the no-kill goal, which provides expert hands-on training and support customized for individual municipal shelters and the specific communities they serve

Helped more than 2,800 animals affected by Hurricane Harvey between August 25 and the end of 2017

Launched the Best Friends Digital Community, a digital hub where Best Friends Network partners can share best practices, connect with one another and develop no-kill expertise

A special thank-you to Maddie’s Fund for funding transformational programs in 2017. This partnership helped support new community cat programs, network partner mentorships, the new Best Friends Digital Community, regional animal welfare summits and more. #ThanksToMaddie

A Message from the CEO

"As we barrel toward our goal of nationwide no-kill by 2025, our work is becoming more strategic and having even more impact."

“Give Love was a huge success. Thirty-eight adult cats were adopted, two of which were FIV-positive. And we saw our long-time cat resident, Veronica, go home. She’s 11 years old and had been here for more than 200 days.” - Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA, Virginia

Expert Care for Kittens

Best Friends operates four regional kitten nurseries and provides support to network partners around the country to help cats and kittens in their communities.

Sustainable Success for Dogs

The city of Los Angeles reached the no-kill benchmark* for dogs this past year, while the state of Utah and New York City continued to sustain their no-kill status for dogs.

Save rates for dogs

Best Friends regional programs

Los Angeles: 91.4% | New York City: 90.9% | Utah: 95.3%

*Saving 90 percent or more of the animals who enter shelters is the benchmark for no-kill.

Roomba, a dog at the NKLA Pet Adoption Center who was being overlooked by adopters, was featured on television in a heart-covered sweater that a creative volunteer put on her. Shortly after, she was adopted by someone who had seen her on TV. #SweatersSaveLives

Smart, Strategic Spay/Neuter and Trap-Neuter-Return

98,275animals spayed or neutered through Best Friends spay/neuter clinics and trap-neuter-return programs

26,662 animals spayed or neutered through Best Friends spay/neuter clinics

59,016community cats spayed or neutered through Best Friends programs

Powerful Programs for Community Cats

A new community cats mentorship program, funded by Maddie’s Fund, was launched this past year to help smaller Best Friends Network partners make a bigger impact in their communities.

Collaborating to save Indiana’s community cats

Allen County SPCA, Fort Wayne Animal Care and HOPE for Animals

$62,000 community cat mentorship grant for staffing and supplies

574 community cats spayed or neutered within the first four months of the program

Pet-Friendly Programs for Communities

The Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants, made possible through the generous support of the Rachael Ray Foundation, funded new lifesaving programs for 49 Best Friends Network partners across 23 states this past year.

Greenville County Animal Care

Greenville, South Carolina

Received $20,000 Rachael Ray Save Them All Grant to provide free spay/neuter for large-breed dogs

“Large dogs are the biggest incoming group for our shelter. In just the first four months, we spayed or neutered 140 large dogs and puppies for free, and the program is only becoming more popular.” - Shelly Simmons, Greenville County Animal Care

Lifesaving Events Across the Country

2017 Strut Your Mutt, presented by BOBS®from Skechers®

More than $2.6 million was raised, with nearly $2 million going directly to the 300 shelter and animal welfare partners that participated.

Nearly 13,500 human participants

9,000+ canine participants (and one pig!)

14 cities and one virtual event

2017 Best Friends National Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, presented by Maddie’s Fund, July 13-15

Love and Care for the Animals at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Feathered and fabulous

Last June, the new Parrot Garden Headquarters officially opened. Anchored by a central aviary with living plants and a water feature, the new building was designed to increase functional space and better accommodate birds, staff and volunteers year-round.

Many Parrot Garden residents arrive with special needs and can be very particular about their people. With the huge boost from the newly designed headquarters, Parrot Garden will have a better space in which staff can give care and facilitate adoptions for our colorful feathered friends.

Parrot Garden in 2017

78 new arrivals | 49 adoptions

Spoons of love

When an adorable kitten named Gavin came to the Sanctuary, he tested “discordant” for feline leukemia (FeLV). That means he can’t live with either cats who test positive for FeLV (because they might make him sick) or cats who test negative (and might get sick from him). So, he went into a special room in Cat World reserved for discordant cats.

Gavin wasn’t in his new room long before a family with no other cats at home visited the Sanctuary, looking to adopt a special-needs cat, and fell for him. Before saying goodbye, Gavin’s caregivers packed up a special little bag of his favorite type of toy: plastic spoons.

A special thank-you to Instinct® by Nature’s Variety, Best Friends’ official pet food and treats provider. Nature’s Variety provides food and treats for animals at the Sanctuary and our regional pet adoption centers.

TOGETHER, WE WILL SAVE THEM ALL. Thank you to all of the compassionate individuals, companies and foundations who gave to the animals this past year. Thank you for caring. Thank you for believing. Thank you for being a part of this amazing work. The animals are forever grateful. We are forever grateful.